1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to emergency locking devices for seatbelts and in particular, relates to locking seatbelt retractors incorporating inertial devices to cause a pawl to lock against a ratchet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art locking, inertial seatbelt retractors have been typically characterized by complex design. The complexity by which the inertial member coacted with a pawl and ratchet to lock the seatbelt retractor upon application of an impulsive force has caused such prior art devices to be expensive, difficult to assemble quickly, unreliable and slow acting. Therefore, what is needed is a rugged, simple locking retractor mechanism for a seatbelt which can be easily assembled by mass production methods, which is highly reliable, and which is capable of responding to an impulsive force within a very short time.